edenfenixblogs

[edenfenixblogs]

Agreed completely.

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Could you elaborate a bit on your recent comment? Were you suggesting modern Armenians are descended from Turkish people? Or were you talking about Turkish residents of land that used to be Armenia but is not contained in the modern state of Armenia?

Sure! I will add the caveat that I was continuing from the original post’s idea about the ways in which an Assyrian return to the land in question might mirror the way Jews have been treated since returning to our ancestral homeland.

That is the lens with which I am addressing this topic: the assumption that Assyrian struggles would mirror Jewish struggles and possible ways to address some of those shared struggles that may occur.

What I am not doing: telling Assyrians or descendants of those who did (or did not) survive the Armenian genocide how to feel about their own or modern Turkish indigeneity. I am also not claiming to be an expert on Armenia or the Armenian genocide. This is a Jewish lens, because I am staying in my lane as a Jewish person. I defer to Armenians and Assyrians as the primary voices in all matters concerning their own indigeneity and history.

As I am still learning about the details of the genocides that took place, I freely admit that I am still learning the specifics of the Sayfo vs the Armenian genocide, as Armenians and Assyrians share a close historical relationship but are also distinct people. As both genocides (from what I’ve gathered so far) took place during the late Ottoman Empire and within the boundaries of that empire and are both considered part of the Late Ottoman Genocides, but also have their own distinct distinguishing factors.

For my ease as a newb I’m addressing both groups. Please listen to Armenians and Assyrians if they contradict anything I say here. Again, this is an outsider’s perspective—a Jewish perspective. But it is an also a sympathetic/empathetic perspective of a people who has accomplished the goal of returning to The Land and the complications that can ensue afterward.

To clarify my earlier point per request,the Assyrians and Armenians cleansed away from the land(s) in question during the Armenian genocide and Assyrian Genocide/Sayfo and whatever ethnic identities, religious identities, and national identities they now encompass are inarguably indigenous to Armenia/Assyria. That is not something that will ever change as long as the identity of being Armenian and Assyrian is something that informs the culture of those people (as in groups of people with a shared identity, not all individuals within that group).

However, if these exiled Armenians and Assyrians return home to a situation like what Jews have returned to, it is likely that the CURRENT residents of the land in question will claim to be indigenous as well. Self identification is a feature of indigenous identity.

It is my contention that it is irrelevant whether or not they make this claim. Whether or not current indigeneity exists does not negate the right to return for the indigenous peoples of that region who are currently living in exile. Returning to their ancestral homeland will not make them settler colonials. Establishing a state there will not make them settler colonials. There is a history of bloodshed on that land and those from there deserve to return. That said, there are also people who have lived in those lands their whole lives who are descended from those who committed atrocities against those currently in diaspora.

Those people may claim indigeneity. Fine. Let them. It doesn’t diminish the indigeneity of those who wish to return or their right to do so. It does, however, mean that those living there now should not be cleansed in retribution. Like Palestinians and Israelis, all those living in the land in question will have to find a way to live side by side—hopefully having learned from our struggles a better way forward.

[edenfenixblogs]

Let’s put some numbers to Jewish fear right now.

In news that I’m sure will thrill all antisemites, it would take startlingly little effort to foment widespread violence against us and cause another genocide of the Jewish people.

I have had many fellow Jews express to me how overwhelming it is to see the rising antisemitism. I have seen many Jews express fear at being drowned out of public, online, and IRL spaces due to dangerously violent vitriol.

I have also seen people who claim to advocate for Palestine—especially western leftists—openly mock Jews who express this fear.

Finally, I and my fellow Jews have often expressed that, while we wholeheartedly support Palestinian freedom and self determination, it is exhausting to have to say so repeatedly, especially when we are trying to advocate for ourselves. This is not due to any latent or widespread hatred of Muslims, Arabs, or Palestinians. It is because we are an extremely maligned and marginalized minority that is fighting to be heard against strong, hostile forces that at best wish we’d shut up and at worst want us eradicated from the planet.

There is a disconnect about how much harm people can do to Jews by spreading antisemitism and refusing to dismantle their own internalized antisemitism—and everyone has internalized antisemitism. It is one of the oldest forms of prejudice in the world and is found in almost every single culture. It is as, if not more, pervasive than white privilege. Yes. You read that right. And if asked to elaborate, I will provide numbers on that to the best of my ability. For the purposes of this post, however, I want to focus on the global distribution of religious groups only.

Specifically, this disconnect is between Jews who are fully aware and feel the affects of this damage and goyim who simply do not comprehend our marginalization.

To help, let’s put some numbers to this. In this post, I’ll be using the Pew Research Center’s survey and findings on the Global Religious Landscape. This is the most recent data from a reputable source that I could find which surveyed every world religion at the same time. While the Jewish population has grown slightly in the intervening years, so have most (if not all) other religious populations around the globe. I wanted to use figures measured at the same time to avoid bias for or against any religious group.

For the purposes of this post, I will not be discussing folk religions or other religions. This is not because they are not important. This is because they are not a monolith and individual folk religions and other religions may have even fewer adherents per religion than Judaism. I am currently only focusing on religions and religious groups who have more adherents than Judaism.

In descending order of adherents, there number of people in the world belonging to these groups:

2,200,000,000 (2.2 Billion) Christians

1,600,000,000 (1.6 Billion) Muslims

1,100,000,000 (1.1 Billion) Religiously unaffiliated people

1,000,000,000 (1 Billion) Hindus

500,000,000 (500 Million) Buddhists

14,000,000 (14 Million) Jews

Reduced to the simplest fractions there are:

1100 Christians for every 7 Jews

800 Muslims for every 7 Jews

550 Religiously unaffiliated people for every 7 Jews

500 Hindus for every 7 Jews

250 Buddhists for every 7 Jews

Combined, there are 6,400,000,000 non-Jewish people in religions or religious groups (including religiously unaffiliated people).

This means that for every 7 Jews there are 3200 people in religious groups who outnumber us.

Jews are 0.2 % of the global population.

When we tell you that hate is dangerous, it is because…

It would only take 0.21% of 6.4 Billion people to hate us in order to completely overwhelm and outnumber every single Jewish person on the planet. In other words, only 67.2 out of every 3200 people.

And given how violent and aggressive people have become toward us in recent weeks, that doesn’t seem far off.

No, most Christians, Muslims, Atheists/Agnostics, Hindus, and Buddhists do NOT hate Jews.

But if even 0.21% of them do hate us, Jews are at a legitimate and terrifying risk of ethnic cleansing and genocide.

It is not possible for Jews alone to fight this rising tide of hate. There simply aren’t enough of us. And many of us are too scared to tell you the truth: if you don’t vocally and repeatedly stand up for Jews (and not just the ones you agree with) you will be complicit in the genocide that follows. Police your own communities.

Nobody acting in good faith is asking you to abandon Palestinians or their fight for self determination and equality in their homeland. All we are asking is for you to learn about antisemitism, deconstruct it in yourself, and loudly condemn it when it occurs in front of you. We are asking you to comfort us and not run away when we are scared or even angry at you. Because a lot of us are angry with you, because we are extremely scared right now and many of you are not helping us. Many of you are actively and carelessly spreading dogwhistles that further the global rise in hatred against us.

You can support Palestine AND avoid Islamophobia WITHOUT making antisemitism worse. But you can’t stop antisemitism by staying silent in the face of it. And if you don’t speak up, you will get us killed. Silence, in this case, is quite literally violence.

Many of us have armed guards posted at our synagogues and schools and community centers because of this. I certainly had times where my synagogue and school had to have armed security for our safety.

The only reason more of us haven’t died already is because we have millennia of experience in confronting this kind of hatred and guarding against it.

But in pure numbers, if you don’t speak up for us now, we don’t have a chance at survival without support.

So, what can you do, specifically?:

* Make a stand or public statement about condemning antisemitism without mentioning another group. Acknowledge Jewish fear, pain, and current danger without contextualizing it in someone else’s. It could literally be something as simple as “Antisemitism is bad. There’s never a reason for it. I won’t tolerate it in presence in real life or online.” If you cannot bring yourself to publicly make this statement, you should have a serious look at yourself to understand why you can’t.

* Learn about the six universal features of antisemitism and the many, various dog whistles affecting the global Jewish community

* Do not welcome people who espouse rhetoric that includes any features from the above bullet point in your community unless you are able to educate them and eliminate that behavior.

* Check in on your Jewish friends, regularly and repeatedly. Do not wait for them to reach out to you. They are scared of you. Even if you don’t have the emotional space to have conversations about antisemitism. Just send a message once in a while, unprompted, “Jfyi, antisemitism still sucks. I support you.”

* Redirect conversations about which “side” is “right” to how to attain peace. Do this by saying that this line of argument is not conducive to peace, and link to a well-respected organization not widely accused of either antisemitism or Islamophobia that is devoted to achieving a peaceful resolution, increasing education, or providing humanitarian aid to relevant affected groups—including Jews, Israelis, Palestinians, Muslims, and Arabs. You can find over 160 such organizations at the Alliance for Middle East Peace https://www.allmep.org/

* Look to support experienced groups without widespread and verifiable claims of prejudice against either Jews or Muslims or Arabs or Palestinians. Many of these organizations can also be found at the AllMEP link above. Avoid groups on the shit list as well as unproductive and harmful movements.

* Do not default to western methods of political demonstration. Specifically, protests are not useful in attaining peace in western nations at this time. Israelis and Palestinians can and should protest to the best of their abilities in Israel and Palestine so as to pressure their own governments. However, protests in western nations have proven to be poorly regulated and to further the spread of bigoted rhetoric and violence against Jews, Muslims, Arabs, and Palestinians. Furthermore, there are nearly as many Palestinians in the world as there are Jews. It is extremely easy and common for the voices of bad actors and bigots on all sides to completely drown out Jewish and Palestinian voices and concerns at these events.

* Spend more time listening and learning than speaking and acting. Anyone who tells you this conflict is simple is someone who is lying to you. Take the time to learn the ways in which your actions and words can get people hurt before joining the fray.

* Stop demonizing Zionism as a concept, even if you disagree with it. Understand that it is a philosophy with many different movements that often conflict with each other. The Zionism practiced by Netanyahu and the Likud party is NOT representative of most Zionists or interpretations of Zionism. It is an extremist form of Zionism known as Revisionist Zionism.

* Don’t deny Jewish indigeneity to the levant. It doesn’t help Palestine and hurts Jews by erasing our physical and cultural history as well as erasing the Jews who remained in Israel even through widespread diaspora.

* KEEP THE HOLOCAUST OUT OF YOUR MOUTH

Things That Are Always OK

* Denouncing Antisemitism loudly and publicly

* Denouncing Islamophobia loudly and publicly

* Telling your Jewish and Muslim and Arab friends you support them and won't abandon them

* Elevating the work of respected, widely accepted people and organizations devoted to attaining peace for all, rather than just one group of people.

* Develop media literacy

* Understand what aspects of the current western leftist movements Jews are criticizing, rather than assuming our criticisms are motivated by hatred for Palestine or Palestinians.

* Expressing sorrow for civilian deaths regardless of religion or nationality.

* When you are not Jewish and you share a post about antisemitism from a Jewish person, please say you’re a goy. This isn’t because you’re not welcome to share. This is because it is indescribably comforting to know we aren’t just talking amongst ourselves and screaming into the void. Let us know you are supportive of us. It doesn’t mean that you or we hate Palestine or Palestinians or that we oppose their full and equal rights in our shared homeland.

#Reblogging myself again #antisemitism #leftist antisemitism #the Jew hatred just keeps getting worse #more relevant now than ever

[edenfenixblogs]

Assyrians who wish to do so should absolutely be allowed to safely return to their ancestral homeland. But this is what I’ve been saying all day. There is no such thing as the “one true indigeneity.” Assyrians returning to their land may very well face the same discrimination and propaganda and violence that Jews face. But I think the more people who choose to return to their homes will actually lessen that same discrimination, propaganda, and violence. The more we establish precedent for the return of indigenous peoples, the safer the world becomes for all indigenous peoples.

And while the lies about a fictional historical Arabized Assyria will always be lies, I think the best course of action for the non-Assyrian people currently on that land who claim to be indegenpus is not to say that they are not actually indigenous.

The best course of action is instead to say, “OK. Self-identification is a valid and inherent aspect of indigenous identity. I’m interested to know why you feel that way, but please be aware that it doesn’t make my own indigeneity less valid or less relevant than yours. Indigeneity is an aspect of cultural and personal identity, not a weapon or a contest.”

Furthermore, indigeneity does not absolve one group from the violence they commit against another group. The Armenian genocide was a genocide. Period. And the people currently in Armenia are the descendants of those who carried out that genocide. If they claim to be indigenous now, it doesn’t matter if that claim is true. All that matters is that the victims of that genocide and their survivors are granted safety and recognition and self determination now.

Assyrians MUST have the right to return home. It is their home. No matter who else now calls it home, that does not make it any less of a home to the Assyrians people.

#when does indigeneity begin

[edenfenixblogs]

So we all know that Tumblr is US-centric. But to what degree? (and can we skew the results of this poll by posting it at a time where they should be asleep?)

Reblog to increase sample size!

[edenfenixblogs]

For there to be peace, both sides are gonna have to agree to examine some things that make them very uncomfortable. Sorry. It’s just how it is. I’m ready to do that work tho.

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[edenfenixblogs]

WOW!!! This is so kind!!!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!

I’m sure my followers have plenty more recommendations. And when I have more time later I might add more.

(Also, I want to shout out the similarity between Zakat and the Jewish concept of Tzedaka, which is the same thing!)

But I think one of the best things you can do is to see if there are any places in need in your local area. Like, are local synagogues looking for help raising money for security at their temples? Same goes for Jewish day schools!

The ADL is usually pretty good I think. Funding organizations that engage in Holocaust education is important.

And if you don’t have money? Just listening to Jews and affirming your care for us and your hope for a peaceful future for us is among the most meaningful things one can do in this time.

Bless you and your kind heart. Thank you.

Peace be upon you Jews of Jumblr!

With the rise of antisemitism, and one of my favorite things about my Muslim faith being zakat(prescribed charity giving), what are some charities you would like me to give to in these trying times?

I've seen plenty of places to donate to help Palestinians, but I haven't seen anything to help any of you Jews that are facing antisemitism as backlash to all of this.

Forgive me if it has passed, but I know it's around Passover(I believe that's the holiday going on right around now?) And I'm sure there are Synagogues or Jewish charities that could use some donations.(at least I think. I know that Churches and Christian charities take donations around Christmas and Easter.)

I'd truly like to help all who are affected by this war. Whether it be Isreali Jews in Isreal, or diaspora Jews(I think that's the term? What I mean is, Jews who do not live in Isreal) who are struggling with increased antisemitism.

No charity is too niche, though I may not be able to donate to all of them, as I am on SSDI(a form of disability) so it's not like I have hundreds or thousands to throw around. But I know that anything can help.

Love, your friendly disabled queer Muslim with all the questions.

#jewish muslim solidarity #love #this is how you ally #how to help #I/p #antisemitism

[edenfenixblogs]

Niiiiice

👌

Reminder: Jewish indigeneity is not a threat to any other ethnic group. It’s just a fact. Acknowledging Jews as indigenous to the levant doesn’t actually harm any Palestinians. Palestinian indigeneity does not actually rely on Jews NOT being indigenous. Multiple peoples can be indigenous to the same place.

#if jew know jew know

[edenfenixblogs]

I think about this a lot. And I think the White indifference to indigeneity is interesting. (Tone indicator: genuine) I’m genuinely unsure of what to make of Euro-American Christian Whiteness as it relates to indigeneity. (And yes, even former Christians raised in Christianity or atheists with a Christian familial/cultural background are included in this as a dominant culture). And I actually think that informs a lot of how I think and feel about Palestinian indigeneity.

Look, a lot of very educated Jews who I deeply respect and don’t entirely disagree with are responding to my post right now with the assertion that Palestinians aren’t indigenous to the Levant. I maintain that Palestinians ARE indigenous to the Levant, but not because I disagree with them on the facts.

It’s hard to talk about because Muslims and Arabs in European and American society are inarguably minorities who are treated poorly. And the last thing I would ever want is to have a statement of mine taken to mean that I hate ANY Muslim or Arab person, especially on racial or religious grounds. I do not.

But Arabs and Muslims have repeatedly colonized, abused, tortured, and ethnically Jews both in Israel and in many other nations around the world. This is a fact. Palestinians during the British mandate made it very clear that they despised Jews and would not tolerate the existence of a Jewish state when British colonial rule ended. The rest of the Muslim world exiled Jews to Israel as punishment for its creation.

And yet, the Naqba was indeed an ethnic cleansing. The violence against Jews by Muslims and Arabs does not erase violence done by Israelis against Palestinians. Neither justifies the other.

Like White Christians, Palestinian history is full of instances of systemic privilege and verifiable instances of violence against Jews. But the situation Palestine is currently facing is no privilege at all.

But here’s my hot take: we are all indigenous to somewhere. And I think that the idea that who is and isn’t colonized is the sole determinant of indigeneity is outdated and incomplete. Academic Discourse about what is and is not encompassed by the term indigeneity is still a relatively knew field of study. And I think it’s not so set in stone that we can’t interrogate the idea of indigeneity itself outside of a colonial context.

To be very clear: colonization is extremely important in terms of its impact on creating indigenous cultural groups. I don’t recommend or advocate for removing a colonial framework from the concept of indigeneity at all.

But outside of that, what are other frameworks that we can use? What else creates indigeneity? When does indigeneity begin?

I know that there is no timeline on when indigeneity ends. Jews are indigenous to the Levant. And we always will be, because our relationship to that land is inextricable from our identity.

But when does that relationship BECOME inextricable from other identities in other circumstances?

As a Jew, I am part of one of the very few cultures that predates most other cultures that currently exist. My culture has witnessed the birth of many indigenous groups and the fall of many cultures—both dominant and oppressed. Where were citizens of the Roman Empire indigenous to at the time Rome fell? Perhaps the answer there is easy: Rome. But it gets more complicated than that. Rome conquered Greece. Did the Greeks become indigenous at that time, despite being a violent colonizing force before that? I’d argue yes. And unlike Rome, Greek identity extended over many individual city states that previously had more unique identities and their own conquered territories.

For me, indigeneity has more to do with cultural relationship to place. The influence of place on food and language and customs. Oppressor vs oppressed is just a binary. And in the words of John Green, “Almost everything we think of binary is actually spectral.”

Sure, White Christian Americans may have been indigenous to England or Spain or France, depending on your location and family history. But now? Do those places still determine your identity? Your language? Your culture? Your food?

Quite possibly yes! But also sometimes no!

Also, as a Jew, I’m very familiar with the concept of a dominant culture coming to my people after a century or so of residence in a location and being told not so gently to “get the fuck out and go home.” Even now, even though I identify as American as well as Jewish, I know that this directive has always assumed that “home” is Israel. We never belonged here. We were never part of here. We were always perceived as unwelcome interlopers wherever we existed—no matter how long our people existed here. And so we never fully assimilated. We never lost our connection with the land of Israel. In our bones, we are from there, BECAUSE we have never been allowed to be from here.

But what about you? Where are you from? What is the place that informs your identity? Because you do have a cultural identity. You do have a language and a religious background (whether or not you practice that religion) and family recipes and history that has been passed down. And those elements of culture came very literally from somewhere. That is the place to which you are indigenous.

I think the other reason it is harder in the modern era to disentangle all this is because, in some ways, religion has replaced nationality in terms of a point of origin for cultural elements. Culture in Europe and America so many ways seems to originate from a Church. And I don’t think we’ve really begun to academically and socially engage in the idea of how that change in the organization of human society from land-based to religion-based has impacted concepts of cultural identity and indigeneity.

And Jews are caught in the crossfire about this. Because we are a religion and an ethnicity. We don’t have a central religious figure or group in the way Catholics have a pope or Shia Muslims have a Grand Ayatollah or Sunni Muslims have the Grand Imam or Mormons have The Church of JCLDS. We have the historical texts of our forefathers, which all take place in Israel and are about Israel.

But what about Palestine? Many Palestinians identify as Arab, but I don’t think Palestinian Arabs want to call the whole of the Arabian peninsula home. If they did, they wouldn’t be so upset about the tiny scrap of land that is Israel when they have a whole peninsula.

So, I want to examine why. I want to examine why Palestinians, unlike White Christian Euro-Americans, have decided to assert indigeneity now.

I know cynics will say it is because they hate Jews and wish violence upon all of us. And, OK, many of them really do. They proved as much on 10/7 and all the threats and bombs that they’ve launched our way since.

But I still hear the others. I hear the Palestinians who are saying they just want peace in their homeland. They don’t want violence. Their culture is tied to the land. And I want to meet them where they are instead of telling them their cultural identity is somehow a lie or false. It’s not my culture. It’s theirs. And an integral feature of indigeneity is the right to self identify.

So I’m here. I validate that self identification. I hear that you don’t want violence or to hurt/exile/kill Jews and that you regard yourself as indigenous to the Levant specifically. Ok! Let’s talk about that, then. Because I think that’s interesting and valuable that you have such a clear idea of who you are and where you come from when your Euro-American counterparts don’t seem to have that same clarity.

I think acknowledging Palestinian indigeneity is a very valuable thing for evolving how we discuss the concept of indigeneity in general. It doesn’t mean that we stop using the frameworks we have already. But it does mean that new frameworks might apply. Let’s figure out how all that works —together and peacefully.

I get that this topic is controversial and pushes buttons. But discussing it doesn’t actually harm anyone. And our discomfort in addressing it is key to why we must address it.

Reminder: Jewish indigeneity is not a threat to any other ethnic group. It’s just a fact. Acknowledging Jews as indigenous to the levant doesn’t actually harm any Palestinians. Palestinian indigeneity does not actually rely on Jews NOT being indigenous. Multiple peoples can be indigenous to the same place.

#indigenous #indigeneity #Palestinian indigeneity #i/p #antisemitism #leftist antisemitism #Islamophobia #Islamism #jewish indigeneity #we all come from somewhere #cultural provenance

[edenfenixblogs]

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#art! #jewishart #Jewish art

[edenfenixblogs]

“weaponizing antisemitism” is literally just the Jewish-specific version of “you’re playing the race card”

it’s not that no one ever ever ever does it, but if it’s something you think you have to constantly be on guard about, you are telling on yourself

#whoomp there it is #antisemitism #qqq

[edenfenixblogs]

I am once again thinking about digging holes

It's so fucked up that digging a bunch of holes works so well at reversing desertification

I hate that so much discourse into fighting climate change is talking about bioenginerring a special kind of seaweed that removes microplastics or whatever other venture-capital-viable startup idea when we have known for forever about shit like digging crescent shaped holes to catch rainwater and turning barren land hospitable

[edenfenixblogs]

Please reblog for a greater sample size if you’re interested in the results!

Edit: While comments and commentary is much appreciated, please don’t give away whether a particular answer is correct or incorrect until after the poll!

#There is one right answer #and if you don’t know it? #stop talking and listen instead

[edenfenixblogs]

Conversation between me, and another high educated Jewish women whose opinions I respect

Her: What's missing here are the facts. If we stuck to the facts there wouldn't be so much intensity surrounding this issue. Me: But you and I are both highly educated Jewish women, and we can't even agree on the facts regarding the history of Palestine as a place name, ethnic identifier, and nation. If we can't even agree on those facts, how on earth can facts help anyone move forward?

There's the question. Not just for Jews, but for everyone involved in, or concerned with this conflict. How do we move forward if multiple sides of the room dispute the veracity of such basic statements as:

-Jews are a globally oppressed minority ethnic group, the hatred of which is deeply embedded in Western thought and rhetoric.

-The Naqba was a period of ethnic cleansing in which the government and military of the new State of Israel expelled Palestinian Arabs from their homes and property; a dispossession and a series of events which continue to traumatize and negatively impact the lives and livelihoods of Palestinians.

-The Holocaust was a traumatic event in the history of the Jewish people, the legacy of which is embedded in the psyches, world views, and collective trauma of the Jewish people, and invariably impacts how this group views global issues.

-Palestinian Arabs had a full developed sense of identity and statehood before the British Empire fucked off, and made their discomfort with increasing Jewish emigration clear to the British before the outbreak of the Second World War.

-Jews had nowhere to go before, during, or really, after the Holocaust; and the governments of many Arab States ethnically cleaned their own ancient Jewish communities in retribution for the creation of the State of Israel.

-The State of Israel does not exist because the Holocaust happened, or as an "apology" for said event.

THIS POST COMPRISES A SERIES OF RHETORICAL QUESTIONS MEANT TO MAKE US APPRECIATE THE DEPTHS OF THE DISCURSIVE PROBLEMS HERE; NOT A POST FOR "DISCOURSE" AND HATEFUL, AGGRESSIVE SHIT.

If you feel you have to do that, copy & paste into your own separate post.

[edenfenixblogs]

Reminder: Jewish indigeneity is not a threat to any other ethnic group. It’s just a fact. Acknowledging Jews as indigenous to the levant doesn’t actually harm any Palestinians. Palestinian indigeneity does not actually rely on Jews NOT being indigenous. Multiple peoples can be indigenous to the same place.

[edenfenixblogs]

Actually that’s not true at all. All of humanity originates in Africa. That part is true. Indigeneity is much more complex than a point of origin.

Indigeneity not only involves a tie to a piece of land.

It also involves a culture that revolves around and depends on that land for key elements of its ongoing nature.

As a Jewish person, the vast majority of the continent of Africa is fascinating to me. But Africa in general is not my homeland (yes I know Israel is in North Africa, Middle Eastern Europe, or Southwest Asia depending on how you look at it, but Africa is a big continent and I’m not indigenous to all of it. Just the levant).

As a person with ancestry that existed in France in the 1900s and Mongolia in the 1800s, I feel that I have lineage in France and Mongolia and would be interested in learning more about my family history there.

But I am not indigenous to France or Mongolia either.

My culture is not French or Mongolian. No part of my language or daily life is rooted in France or Mongolia. I have some food intolerances and some family recipes that seem to date back to my family members living in those places at those times, but not in any way that shapes who I am.

My Judaism, however, is a huuuuuuge part of my daily life. My identity as a human being is inextricable from my Judaism—both in terms of my literal DNA (which shows roots dating back to Hittite culture pre-Judea and centuries of Judaism in Jerusalem) as well as the cultural makeup of my family and traditions.

My culture relies on the land of Israel as the foundation for our religious texts, cultural festivals, and very name. Israel is the name of my people. The Hebrew name for the ancient Jewish people is Israel. When we pray and tell stories of our past, we tell those stories about Israel. In Seder just last week, we gave thanks for G-d leading us out of Egypt and into Israel and we prayed for peace for our brethren who remain in Israel today. That prayer is not new or related to current events or the state of Israel.

That prayer has been a part of Passover Seder for centuries.

Our prayers of hope are known to contain the phrase “next year in Jerusalem” — a millenia old call for us to return home and to live in the land that made us.

The entirety of the cultural artifacts related to our origin and foundational practices exist only in Israel.

The Dome of the Rock is built, quite literally, on top of our most sacred ancient temple. It is why Jews from all over the world go to pray there. It is the only remnant of that temple which was destroyed when our diaspora began.

Our harvest festivals speak of the native flora of Israel.

Our solemn holidays recount the times in which we were killed for remaining in Israel or forced to leave.

The English word Judaism itself is named for the land of Judea, the name Romans called the place—meaning “the land where Jews are.” The word Judaism basically literally means “people from that place where Jews are from” and that place where Jews are from is the ancient land of Israel. However you feel about the modern state of Israel does not change the fact that the LAND of Israel is inextricable to the location where the current state of Israel resides—especially Jerusalem.

There is no part of my identity that could exist without my indigeneity to the LAND of Israel. This is true of every Jew, no matter where we currently reside. This is what it means to be indigenous.

Erasing or minimizing that indigeneity is, without exception, blatant racism and Jew hatred. Because here’s the thing—wherever else my ancestors may have lived temporarily, they were not of that place. Relatives in Mongolia were not Mongolia. Relatives in Russia or Hungary or Poland were not even granted citizenship to those countries. They were forced to live in ghettos and told they could exist for awhile in those places, but they had no nation to call home there.

Jews have not evolved to have a cultural home anywhere else. Wherever else Jews reside, the only place where we have ever been home is the land of Israel. Everywhere else we are settlers—forced to stay where we are after the last settlement was purged from Jewish life.

This is what it means to be indigenous to Israel. No. Life began in Africa. And Judaism began in the Levant. But we are not all indigenous to Africa.

Time does not affect indigeneity. Origin is not the whole story of indigeneity. Indigeneity is the inextricable link between a human, their culture, and their origin.

And we know we are indigenous to this place for all the listed reasons. But also because this was true of our mothers and their mothers and their mothers and so on and so forth since our long diaspora began.

I am not indigenous to America. I am not indigenous to Europe. I am only indigenous to Israel.

And guess what? I don’t even want to live there!!!! I am perfectly fine living in America. But I desperately wish for it to be safe for me to visit. For me to have confidence that a week or two spent seeing the birthplace of my culture and lands where my ancestors walked could be free of an attempt on my life. Or the lives of any Jews based solely on their Jewishness and presence in Israel. But I have never lived through a time where that was remotely possible.

I don’t know where you’re indigenous to. I don’t know what your culture is. But I sincerely hope you never relate to my experience. I sincerely hope you never know what it is like to be ripped from half of yourself in that way. I hope that wherever you are indigenous to, you are able to go there when you like and feel peace and not terror and trauma.

As I’ve said, Jewish existence in the Levant and our indigeneity to that place is simply a fact. It doesn’t take anything away from any other group that is indigenous there. Multiple people can have indigeneity to the same location. That’s how you end up with different cultures from the same place!

But no matter how much you try to minimize Jewish indigeneity, you aren’t helping Palestine. You’re only hurting Jews. In the same exact way people like you have always hurt Jews: by telling us who we are and where we can be instead of just letting us live and listening to us when we try to tell you about ourselves.

Antisemitism isn’t activism. It’s just hatred.

And this isn’t a debate or up for interpretation. It is a fact about who I am. Claiming anything else is simply your desire to erase me and distort my culture for your own ends. I am not harming anyone by asserting my indigeneity. I am simply asserting a truth. If that truth bothers you, then you have some important bias deconstruction to do inside yourself.

I have not said anything here that harms Palestine or Palestinians or that negates Palestinian rights to self determination and safety. I have only spoken about what it means to be a Jew. And if you’re not Jewish, listen to me instead of trying to talk over me.

Reminder: Jewish indigeneity is not a threat to any other ethnic group. It’s just a fact. Acknowledging Jews as indigenous to the levant doesn’t actually harm any Palestinians. Palestinian indigeneity does not actually rely on Jews NOT being indigenous. Multiple peoples can be indigenous to the same place.

#antisemitism #leftist antisemitism #indigeneity #historical revisionism #jumblr #about me #jewish history #Jewish culture